Never Too Late
by theDoctorlies
Summary: Sasuke keeps sinking deeper and deeper into the darkness, and Naruto’s afraid it’s too late to save him. SasuNaru, One-sided SasuSaku


Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto, not me. I make no profit from writing this. The song 'Never Too Late' belongs to Three Days Grace.

Summary: Sasuke keeps sinking deeper and deeper into the darkness, and Naruto's afraid it's too late to save him. [SasuNaru, One-sided SasuSaku]

"_Even if I say it'll be all right_

_Still I hear you say you want to end your life_

_Now when can we try to just stay alive_

_Maybe we'll turn it all around_

'_Cause it's not too late_

_It's never too late"_

_Never Too Late – Three Days Grace_

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* * *

  
_

Nearly a year had passed since Sasuke's return, with the deaths of Itachi and Orochimaru under his belt. The raven haired boy was never the same, and Naruto was afraid that he was fighting a losing battle, when it came to getting Sasuke back to some semblance of normal. The teen didn't sleep, if the bags under his eyes were any indication. He was paler than before, because he never left the Uchiha compound. And the lights where never on in his house, because his blonde friend would sit at the front gates for hours looking for some signs of life. When the older boy finally let him in, Naruto was shocked into silence at his best friend's appearance. The stoic teen looked exhausted, like he hadn't gotten a good night's sleep in months. His face was scruffy, and his clothes smelled like they hadn't been washed in forever.

Naruto brought it upon himself to force the raven into the shower, washing his clothes and shaving face. He felt a little better when Sasuke came out smelling like a rose, except for the bags infer his eyes. The blonde boy couldn't help his friend sleep better, no matter how hard he tried. Nothing short of sleeping pills would cure that. But what hurt him the most, was the fact that Sasuke hadn't fought him on it. Even as he stripped off his clothes, dumped the raven into the tub, and scrubbed his skin clean the bastard didn't react. And Naruto had yelled at him, insulted him ten times over and nothing came out of the other boy's mouth.

Not even a condescending 'hn'.

The only thing that calmed him somewhat, was the fact that the boy was still eating. There were dirty dishes piled in the sink, and thrash littering the kitchen floor. He made himself busy by cleaning Sasuke's mess, talking to the boy animatedly, and trying to get an answer back. The raven just watched him in silence, sitting at the table with his arms crossed over the polished wood. It unnerved his blonde friend to the point where he wanted to bash his friend's head into a wall, and watch the blood pool around his feet as Sasuke bled to death.

He really needed to stop thinking things like that.

One night, after the daily routine of cleaning and talking to an unresponsive bastard, Naruto had finally had enough. He wondered-not for the first time-why he was even bothering with the jackass. Sasuke had never treated him with respect, had never treated him as an equal. And here he was cleaning his fucking house, shaving him and making sure he had clean clothes. Who the fuck cared if the raven didn't come out of his house? A majority of the village hated him! Nobody would care tomorrow if they woke up with the last Uchiha dead in his house!

Naruto stared down at the dishes in his hand, then back at the raven sitting quietly at the table. Abruptly, the blonde let the plates drop, and watched in morbid satisfaction as they shattered all over the clean floor. Sasuke didn't even flinch at the action, and made not move to stop his friend as he reached for more plates. This time, instead of just letting them drop, he lifted them over his head then smashed them against the floor, taking out all of his frustrations on the poor objects. He had to stop himself from tearing the whole kitchen apart.

Sasuke just sat there like nothing could faze him.

The blonde had given up then, and left the house without so much as a word. He went back after a few weeks, and felt a little guilty for destroying his friend's plates. But he was shocked when Sasuke had opened the door, and where he expected a hairy, smelly mess, the boy was clean shaven and his clothes were laundry-scented. The bastard was _clean_. Naruto had been a little excited, as he walked through his friend's house, noticing the immaculate state of the rooms. He barely fought the urge to throw himself at the other boy.

Sasuke was getting _better._

"Are you still mute?" Naruto asked him playfully, although if one listened hard enough, you would detect a twinge of hope in his tone. He didn't turn to look at the boy, though, in case he saw the blank look on his friend's face. It had been there ever since his return to the village.

"Hn." Sasuke grunted, and Naruto spun around with wide eyes to look at him. A well-aimed fist came sailing at his face, but he didn't bother to dodge it, letting it hit him. The force of it snapped his head to the side, making contact with his right cheek. Pain exploded in his face, and he fought the urge to cradle the injury with his hand. "Dobe. That's for breaking my good dinner plates." The raven told him, smirking slightly. Naruto noticed that it was a different smirk than what he had gotten used to in their academy days. It looked empty, like the superior attitude behind it was hollowed out. Naruto was afraid that his best friend was too far into the darkness to ever resurface the way he was before his journey through sound.

The blonde wanted to throw himself at Sasuke, and demand that he go back to being the bastard that he knew and loved. He could and _would_ pull him out of the darkness, even if it killed him.

After that day, Sasuke seemed to only get better, and he even ventured outside two or three days out of the week. The only problem was his social skills. They seemed to be solely focused on his blonde best friend, ignoring everyone else. Naruto made it a habit of avoiding certain people when he was with Sasuke. The raven hated running into one of his old friends, and getting his ear talked off about how he should come out more often.

He just didn't give a shit.

But one day, Naruto had convinced him to spend the day with Sakura, because the pink haired girl missed him like crazy. Sasuke just couldn't say no to the hopeful expression on his best friend's face. It was troubling, because he'd never felt so weak in his entire life, even after the Itachi thing.

He remembered not wanting to be weak ever again.

Well, that day had gone down in flames within the first few seconds. Sakura had greeted the blonde boy with a kiss on the cheek, and Sasuke felt the inane urge to rip those lips off her face. He was startled by his revelation, and he realized that the blonde's influence on him ran deeper than he thought. Much, much deeper. Needless to say, he'd left the little meeting a few minutes after he got there, with Naruto screaming after him.

He hadn't looked back since.

* * *

Naruto nervously paced the length of Sakura's hall, just in front of her bedroom door, as the pink haired girl behind it hurriedly threw on some clothes. Ever since the blonde had shown up, face streaked with tears, she knew something was wrong. Neither of them knew what had gone wrong today, but the feeling of dread was overwhelming.

"Sakura-chan, hurry up!" The blonde whined, slamming his palm flat against her door. The girl started violently, cursing under her breath as she pulled her shirt on. She yanked her door open the next second and both teens rushed down the stairs at a breakneck speed. They made their way to Sasuke's house, since Naruto's gut feeling told him something had gone wrong there. He had an idea of what it could be, but he was so terrified of being right.

Sasuke's door was locked, and the two ninja wasted no time in vaulting into the nearest unlocked window. The minute Naruto's feet hit the ground; his eyes welled with tears. He could smell a mix of copper and salt in the air and it was heavy. Someone had shed a large amount of blood in this house.

"No. No, no, no!" Naruto moaned to himself, following the smell to Sasuke's bedroom. He hesitated in front of the closed door, the smell being strongest here. But Sakura didn't seem to notice the smell, as she pushed the door open with shaking hands. Naruto almost threw up as the stench of blood invaded his nostrils, and Sakura's gasp of horror was the only affirmation he needed to know that his gut feeling had been right.

He stepped into the large room, and felt wetness stream down his cheeks as his eyes took in the form of his best friend lying curled up in the fetal position on his bed. His skin was pale, stained red in places from the blood oozing out of the cuts on his wrists. Naruto stood completely still as Sakura made her way to the raven's side, carefully healing the wounds and whispering for the boy to open his eyes. Naruto stood stock-still, eyes wide but seeing nothing. There was blood everywhere, and he didn't think Sasuke could survive something like this. They didn't even know how long he'd been laying there.

"Oh, thank God! Naruto, he's still breathing! Help me get him to Tsunade-sama! He won't last for much longer!" Sakura started to pick up the raven's limp body, and Naruto forced himself into action before the crying girl dropped the boy. Together, they managed to get Sasuke on the blonde boy's back, and made their way down the stairs, careful not to slip. It was eerily quiet between them as they made their way to the hospital, both teens thinking the exact dame thing.

What happened to make Sasuke do this?

Naruto burst through the doors of the hospital, yelling at anyone who would listen for help. Sakura grabbed his jacket and pulled him through the swinging doors, and into the first room they came upon. She made him lay Sasuke down on the bed, and started pulling things out of drawers. The raven was hooked into IVs within seconds, and nurses started filing into the room. Naruto was eventually pushed out to make room, and his pink haired teammate told him sternly to sit down and stay calm. When he sat down in the lobby, the full horror of what happened finally hit him, and he couldn't stop himself from screaming at the top of his lungs.

The receptionist stared at him for a few long moments while he cried, and decided to let him get it out of his system. She had seen him come in with Sasuke on his back, after all.

Sakura came out fifteen minutes later, her front splotched with Sasuke's blood. She was smiling, albeit watery, as she took the seat next to the blonde and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"We managed to stabilize him. We had to transfuse him because he lost so much blood, but he's going to be fine." The pink haired girl whispered in his ear. Naruto let out a relieved breath, but was angry when he had finally managed to calm down. Sasuke was going to get hell for doing this to them. To _him_.

"He's not going to be 'fine' when I get through with him." The blonde whispered, clenching his hands into fists. He wiped his tears away with the back of his hand, before getting out of the chair and pacing. "How soon can I see him, Sakura-chan?"

"Um, tomorrow, maybe? When he wakes up." Sakura reluctantly told him, afraid for her raven haired teammate. She knew the blonde had a temper, a _dangerous_ temper, and it was best to keep the boy as happy as possible. Sasuke was playing with fire pulling a stunt like he had. The pink haired girl jumped out of her seat and latched onto his arm, trying to get him to look at her. "Naruto, promise me you won't yell at him. We don't even know why he did it yet."

"Then I'll find out." Naruto told her, shrugging out of her grip and leaving through the sliding doors. Sakura tried to call him back in, but her efforts fell on deaf ears. Sighing, she turned around and walked back to Sasuke's room, so she could wait until the raven woke up.

* * *

Sasuke was aware of only two things. One, he was still alive; and two, he was lying in a hospital bed, with his arms wrapped in thick gauze, heart monitor beeping away next to him. The last thing he remembered was slitting his wrists, so obviously someone had found him. He'd bet his whole fortune it was either Sakura, or Naruto. He really hoped it was Sakura. Nobody was supposed to even know about this.

The raven slowly opened his eyes, momentarily blinded by the lights of the room. By the time everything looked the way it should, Sakura was leaning over his bed rail, peering concernedly into his face.

"Sasuke-kun? Are you feeling okay?" The pink haired girl asked, looking around the room before looking back at him. She looked distressed by the grimace on his face and he didn't blame her.

"Why the hell am I still alive?" He bit out, unconcerned about hurting her feelings. Didn't she get the fact that he didn't want to live anymore? There was no point when she and the blonde idiot tore his heart into a million, little pieces. He didn't want to deal with them anymore.

"Wh-What? How can you _say_ something like that?! I-I _love_ you!" Sakura sniffled, trying to find something in the raven's face that told her he was just pushing her away, and wasn't actually serious. But Sasuke's eyes were resolute, like he'd made the decision to kill himself long before he actually tried. And he was going to again, when he was released.

"Don't you fucking get it?! I don't love you! I don't even _like_ you!" Sasuke yelled in her face, sneering at the tears streaming down her cheeks. He knew he should've felt bad, for making the girl cry, but he didn't care at this point. His teammates had no idea what he was going through, and he knew some of the fault rested in him. If he had just avoided Naruto from the beginning, left him sitting on the porch waiting to be let in, then he wouldn't have these feelings. They wouldn't be threatening to drown him with their strength. He didn't _want_ to feel hopelessly in lo-

He didn't want to _feel_.

Sakura took a step back, staring at the raven with wide eyes. She felt like Sasuke's words had been a harsh slap on her reality. Of course she knew he didn't love her; she'd known that all along. But to not like her at all? She had thought that they were at least close friends.

"Do-Do you feel the same about Naruto? He's the one that knew something was wrong. Do you not like him, too?" She asked in a tiny voice, slowly walking back towards the door, away from the venom in his eyes. At the mention of Naruto's name, the raven stiffened and looked away from her, his shoulders slumping in defeat seconds later. Sakura gasped and covered her mouth to keep herself from crying out inside the small room. She had been suspicious of Sasuke's feelings for Naruto, but now she was sure of them. Her crush loved someone else.

"Get. Out." Sasuke told her coldly, glaring out the window at the passing clouds. He hadn't meant to stiffen at the mention of the blonde's name, but knowing Sakura probably already knew of his feelings, who was to say Naruto still didn't? He heard the pink haired girl sniffle once, and then her retreating footsteps as she ran from the room. He didn't care where she went, as long as she didn't come back. He was done dealing with her and everyone else in this stupid village.

Sakura couldn't stop her tears even after she had left the room and moved down the hallway towards the nurses' station. She knew Sasuke was a jerk, but what he'd said back there took the cake. She wondered if Naruto was the reason for the raven trying to kill himself. If Sasuke loved him like she thought he did, then the raven probably saw it as a weakness. And if she had done something to make her crush angry or depressed…

The pink haired girl flushed as she remembered a few weeks back when she had kissed the blonde on the cheek. Sasuke had been there, and had left just a few minutes later. Naruto had screamed after him, but the raven pretended not to hear him. She wondered if that's when everything had started. And she hoped, for Sasuke's sake and happiness, that Naruto loved him back just as fiercely.

"Sakura-chan?" Warms hands closed over her arms, as concerned, blue eyes met hers. The girl shook her head as she wiped her tears away, giving her friend a watery smile. Naruto frowned at this action, glancing over to Sasuke's open door. "What did that asshole say to you?" He hissed, unconsciously gripping the girl tighter.

"It's nothing, Naruto. But he's awake, if you want to see him." The pink haired girl dodged his questions, and calmly extricated herself from his arms. She made herself look busy, organizing clipboards and writing in notepads. After a while, Naruto left and disappeared into Sasuke's room. The door shut quietly behind him, and Sakura hoped the blonde boy wouldn't start yelling the minute Sasuke opened his mouth.

But then again, maybe the raven _needed _to be yelled at.

Naruto let out a heavy breath when he heard the door click behind him, and he focused his attention on the bastard staring back at him with fathomless, dark eyes. He had a little of his previous paleness back, although from his appearance, the raven looked like a zombie. There were dark circles under his eyes from lack of sleep, and his hair looked greasy from the days he'd gone without bathing. The blonde wondered what sort of thing would put his best friend in such a downward spiral that he'd want to remove himself from the world.

"_You_…are such an idiot! I spent all of last night telling myself that this was just a nightmare. I would wake up, you would be your usual asshole self, and we'd be eating ramen right about now. Do you have _any_ idea how terrified I was?!" Naruto took a deep breath to calm himself, looking back at his best friend with wet eyes, telling himself that crying in front of the other boy wasn't the smartest thing to do. Sasuke couldn't know how much of an effect his near-death experience had on him. "Just…tell me why, teme. Why'd you do it?"

"That's for me to know, and you to mind your own business." Sasuke told the blonde in a thinly controlled voice, only thinly controlled because he was fighting the ridiculously strong urge to kiss away the tears shining in his friend's eyes. He wasn't the comforting type, and especially not for someone he was trying to forget.

"Did you think about _us_ while you were cutting your wrists? Did you think about all the pain that you would cause, trying to kill yourself like that? Did you think at _all?" _The blonde mumbled, ducking his head to stare at the floor, away from the absence of emotion in Sasuke's eyes. He didn't care that his best friend was on the verge of having an emotional breakdown.

"All I did for the last eight months was think." Sasuke muttered under his breath, and didn't care if his teammate heard him or not. Naruto seemed to be done talking, starting stubbornly off to the side with tears flowing freely down his cheeks. The raven's heart skipped a beat, as the blonde raised a hand to wipe them away. It hurt him to see his friend hurting. "I'm done talking about this, Naruto. I think you should leave."

Naruto's head snapped up at this, his mouth opening to spew indignant protests. But Sasuke wasn't even looking at him; he was looking out the window at the passing clouds.

"Fine." He hissed, voice shaking with anger and heart-wrenching pain. He hadn't felt this way in a long time, ever since he first saw the raven in that clearing. But Sasuke was right in front of him this time and yet still so far away. It was like a wall had been built between them to keep him out. He watched Sasuke for a long moment before turning around and pulling the door open, pausing in the doorway and staring determinedly ahead. "I love you, you know." He muttered softly, before walking out into the hall and letting the door shut behind him.

Back in the room, Sasuke had stopped breathing.

* * *

Over the next few days, Sasuke's mental state was closely examined, and Tsunade deemed the raven safe. After Naruto's declaration, Sasuke found it in himself to get better for the blonde, so he could finally tell him why he'd been so hell-bent on committing suicide. Although Sakura was happy he had changed his mind, she decided that asking him the reason would only hinder his recovery. And after an interesting conversation with Shizune about his 'heart wanting what it wanted', she decided to let Sasuke go.

Naruto never came back to see Sasuke after that day, which had been a week prior. That meant Sasuke couldn't confess to the boy until Tsunade released him. And she was being stubborn about it just to piss him off. It seemed to be a punishment for him putting her successor and apprentice in so much pain. But after two weeks of him simply just sitting in the room and starting at the wall, the blonde woman finally caved and sent Sakura to help him leave. At the moment, Sakura was leaning against the doorframe, afraid to come any further. Sasuke felt annoyed that she wasn't her usual aggressive self, but he'd stripped her of it just a few days ago in the harshest of ways.

"Sakura." He said softly, stopping in his task of packing to turn and face the girl. She stiffened at the sound of his voice, her head tilting slightly to show that she was listening. Sasuke shoved his hands into the pockets of his shorts, determined to make the pink haired girl look at him while he apologized. When she finally looked up at him, Sasuke took a deep, calming breath; he'd never apologized to anyone before. "About what I said before…I didn't mean it. It's true that I don't love you, but I think of you as one of my closest friends. Before, I was just trying to make you go away."

"I know you were." Sakura said softly, brushing her pink fringe out of her eyes. She smiled at him a little as she came into the room, and sat in the chair pulled up to his bed. Sasuke stared at her for a long moment before going back to his clothes and packing them into a small bag, his shoulders somehow lighter than before. "What are you going to say to Naruto, when you gather up enough courage to go and see him?"

It was Sasuke's turn to stiffen, as he turned back to gape at her. The kunoichi simply smiled innocently but the raven knew that, beneath her playful façade, was a girl determined. For what, he could only guess, but he knew it wasn't good. Not for him, at least.

"I'm going to apologize." Sasuke mumbled under his breath, worried at the knowing look in his teammate's eyes. He tried to ignore it as he forced his shirts into his small knapsack. He flinched when her hand came to rest on his shoulder, almost in an encouraging way.

"Tell him you love him, too, okay? He's been depressed ever since you tried to…you know." Sakura was obviously still uncomfortable thinking about his almost-suicide. He couldn't blame the girl, after all. She wasn't as delicate as the other girls in the village, but things like her first love trying to off himself…well, it could leave a mark. "He hasn't come out of his apartment since the day you woke up."

"Because of what I said." It wasn't a question.

"Yeah." Sakura pulled her hand away and let it fall to her side, looking sadly at the back of her crush's head. She moved forward slowly, wrapping her arms around Sasuke's waist and pressing her nose into the space between his shoulder blades. Sasuke didn't flinch or pull away, which was a good sign. "I want you to be happy, Sasuke-kun, even if you're not happy with me. Naruto makes you happy in a way that no one else can."

Sasuke carefully absorbed her words, and knew she was right. He'd been happy having Naruto all to himself for the first few months after his return, even if he hadn't outwardly showed it. Naruto was the only reason he'd managed to pull himself out of the darkness.

"I'll do anything for him." The raven said in a hushed tone, and Sakura took that as his version of a love confession. She giggled against his back, but before she could pull away, Sasuke had caught her in a tight embrace. She blushed as the boy's arm went around her shoulders, callused fingers brushing the skin at her waist.

This was the first time he'd ever embraced her.

"You're a beautiful girl, Sakura. You'll make someone very happy. And if they ever hurt you, I'll kill them." Sasuke told her seriously, although his lips were twitching at the corners. Sakura nodded against his chest, blushing slightly when lips brushed the top of her head. Tears were building in her eyes, but she knew it wasn't from the thought of losing her first love. She was crying because, for once in all of the years she'd known the raven, he was smiling. A fucking, honest-to-God smile, and it was the most beautiful thing in the world.

"Go get him, okay?" Sakura smiled at him as she pulled away, slapping him on the arm lightly. Sasuke nodded before turning away to pack the rest of his stuff-Sakura had brought clothes for him to wear during his stay-thinking about what he was going to say to his dobe besides, "I'm sorry."

Well, that and, "I love you, too."

* * *

Three days after his release, Sasuke finally found himself outside of Naruto's apartment, with his hand frozen in the air. He'd been going to knock when it swung open, and startled, blue eyes fell on his. Once Naruto realized who was at his door, he immediately turned and slammed it in his friend's face. On the other side, the blonde had a hand over his heart, part of him happy that Sasuke seemed to be alive still. The rest of him was still angry at the words that the raven had thrown at him during his last-and only-hospital visit.

"Oi, have you eaten yet today?" Sasuke asked through the wood separating them, thinking of any and every way to get his best friend to open the door. Ramen always seemed to persuade him to do things he didn't want to.

The door opened a crack, and one, angry blue eye peeked out at Sasuke. The raven looked back calmly, the barest hints of butterflies twittering around in his stomach. Naruto was at least considering it.

Finally, the blonde opened the door all the way, giving Sasuke a suspicious glare as he shut the door behind him and lead the way down the stairs. The raven smirked as he fell into step with the blonde, knowing he'd been forgiven-to some degree-and that Naruto would be willing to talk. Sasuke would tell him anything he wanted to know, not matter how personal or private the question might be.

He knew Naruto deserved that much.

The two boys ducked under the hanging flaps of Naruto's favorite restaurant, silently taking the seats at the counter. Teuchi, the owner, merely started between Naruto and Sasuke, knowing something serious was about to take place, and hoping no blood would be shed all over his counter.

"Miso ramen again today, Naruto-kun?" The old man grinned, put off by the blonde's sullen mood. He suspected it was because of the dark haired boy next to him, and judging by the gauze on his wrists, he wouldn't have been there if Naruto hadn't done something.

"You bet. Miso's my favorite, old man!" Naruto gave the man his biggest grin, although it didn't quite reach his eyes. Both Teuchi and Sasuke winced.

"Listen, Naruto, I'll let you have as many bowls you want today, on the house. But your little friend's gotta pay for his." The man winked at the blonde boy, who actually elbowed his friend in the side, snickering behind his hand. The raven looked relieved to see his teammate laughing. "You want Miso, too, grumpy?" Teuchi smirked at the glare he got for the comment and a short nod a few seconds later.

He went about making the ramen while the two boys sat in tense silence.

"Are you ready to tell me why?" The blonde asked quietly, reaching for a pair of chopsticks and distractedly ripping them open. He could feel Sasuke's eyes scrutinizing him, and the knowledge made his shiver. The bastard had better tell him _something_ or Naruto was going to rip him a new one.

"You." Sasuke finally told him, looking away from the blonde so he didn't have to see his reaction. He heard Naruto's sharp intake of breath, felt the heavy weight of startled eyes on the side of his head. Even Teuchi was starting at him like he had grown another head on his shoulder.

"_What?_" Naruto whispered, the sound of flimsy wood breaking, The blonde looked down at his hands, which were covered in wood splinters from his chopsticks. He had broken them into six pieces. "What do you mean you did it because of me?! That doesn't even make any sense, Sasuke!"

Teuchi quickly tuned out; feeling this conversation was too private for his own ears. He calmly took his leave, and joined his daughter in the back of the restaurant.

Meanwhile, Naruto was trying to wrap his brain around the fact that he had caused Sasuke's suicide attempt. There was no justification for it. He'd been nothing but nice ever since the bastard came home. The raven should've been groveling at his feet for everything he did.

Not fucking trying to kill himself.

"What got so bad that you had to go and try to kill yourself? You couldn't come to Sakura-chan or me and actually _talk_ to us for once? Huh, asshole?" The blonde grumbled, glaring at the older boy sitting next to him. Sasuke stiffened at the question, remembering exactly why he had avoided his teammates.

"I didn't want to say anything." The raven finally replied, reaching onto the counter to pull another pair of chopsticks out of the little bowl. He handed them to Naruto, who cracked them open unhappily and tried to eat his ramen. Whatever had been up Sasuke's ass was starting to bother him, too.

"Can you just…tell me now? So I can stop freaking out?" Naruto pouted He glared down at his ramen, the smell teasing his nose. This was why he didn't notice the hand reaching towards him until it had grabbed the back of his neck, and soft lips were suddenly melting against his. It took the blonde a few, slow seconds to realize that Sasuke was kissing him, and he was doing nothing to reciprocate.

Before Naruto had time to respond properly, Sasuke was already pulling away, a fine dusting of red on his cheeks. The blonde noticed that Sasuke was cute when he blushed.

"Remember that day I walked away from you?" Sasuke asked, pressing his forehead to Naruto's, his hand still gripping that tanned neck as if he thought the boy was going to run away.

"Of course I do, teme." Naruto answered breathlessly, grabbing the boy by his shirt and pulling him in for another heated kiss. This time, Sasuke's tongue came out to brush against his bottom lip.

"I didn't know it at the time, but I was in love with you. And it made sense. The way I turned my life around, just because you had a breakdown in my kitchen. You had hooked into some part of my brain and I couldn't shake you. When I saw Sakura kiss your cheek that day, it was suddenly so clear." Sasuke took an unsteady breath, kissing the blonde again and wondering why the idiot's lips tasted salty. Naruto wiped at the raven's cheeks with his fingers, finally understanding.

"Is that why you decided to stay alive? Because you knew I felt the same?" The blonde asked, smiling softly at the boy practically crying into his shirt. Sasuke needed to get all of this off his chest.

"There's no point in living if you're not with me. You're my better half." Sasuke mumbled into his shirt, clutching it in both of his hands to keep the blonde right here with him. He lifted his head to press another, small kiss to his best friend's lips, feeling at peace for the first time in God knew how long. And Naruto held him for the better part of their dinner, while the ramen on the counter grew cold and forgotten.

~Owari~


End file.
